Letting Nature In | Jane Goodall | Clara-Jumi Kang
Lessons Learned:
– Letting Nature In ​ – The Hard Wired: Jane Goodall – Vibe We’re Lovin’​ – Between the Covers:
– Picture This:
​ Hello Friend, ​
👉 In short: ​Letting Nature In is less about escaping to the mountains and more about opening the door — literally and figuratively — to the living world that wants to steady us.
We forget how porous we are. A breeze moves through us; birdsong rearranges the day. Even a single tree outside the window can widen our sense of time and belonging.
When we let nature in, we remember:
Our breath and the wind are kin.
The ground holds us without condition.
Life goes on, season by season, and we are intimately part of that cycle.
Sometimes it’s as simple as pausing to watch the light shift across a wall or letting your bare feet meet the soil. Other times it’s the long walk that finally quiets the inner chatter. Either way, the invitation is the same: Step toward what is alive and let it touch you.
Nature’s medicine isn’t a luxury. It’s an ancient inheritance, always waiting, always free. It steadies the nervous system, softens the heart, and reminds us that our lives — no matter how digital, busy, or complicated — belong to a larger story.
Letting Nature In is an act of self-care and soul-care at once. It doesn’t demand we abandon our world; just that we let the wider one in.
Carpe Diem, my friends. Step outside. Open a window. Let the sky broaden your horizons.
Blaming the Victims: ​ Spurious Scholarship and the Palestinian Question ​ By Elia Zureik, G.W. Bowersock, Ibrahim Abu-Lughod, Janet L. Abu-Lughod, Muhammad Hallaj, Noam Chomsky, Norman G. Finkelstein, Peretz Kidron, Rashid Khalidi · 2020​ ​​ If you are inquisitive minded and have the lifestyle that would allow you to take a deeper dive in to what’s happening at the Gaza Strip and beyond, this is an excellent book to get you warmed up for that deeper dive. ​ ​The book is divided into thematic sections, each gathering essays from different authors who challenge Western narratives on Palestine. I’m particularly drawn to Noam Chomsky’s contribution — once dismissed by The Washington Post as “breathlessly deranged,” a description that, to me, only underscores its truth. ​ Not for the faint of heart.. ​
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The Hard Wired
The Hard Wired is a term I use to represent people (authors, thought leaders…), subjects, places etc. that I tap into on a regular basis and most likely will go to see in person or already have…
When I was a very young boy, my father was building out our family business, Trinity Buckle Co., in a small garage in Mar Vista, Los Angeles. After school, I’d come home and help him convert a school bus into an RV. I hadn’t realized how quickly it was coming together until one day at lunchtime, I looked outside and saw the bus parked in front of my school. ​ Long story short—we were heading down to Mexico for many months, with a large stack of National Geographics on board. The top issue featured Jane Goodall on the cover. It had come out a few years earlier, in 1963, so I was about five at the time. I must’ve read that article fifty times and completely fell in love with her. I’ve followed her life and work eagerly ever since. ​Jane Goodall 1934-2025 ​
This photograph is of Lachlan MacAskill with his dog and kitten on the Isle of Eigg in Scotland. The image was taken by photographer Mary Ethel Muir Donaldson sometime between 1910 and 1930. ​ MacAskill is shown with a peat spade, a tool used for cutting peat, a traditional fuel source in the Scottish Highlands. The backdrop of the photo is Laig Bay, with An SgĂąrr, a prominent hill on the island, visible in the distance. The photo is part of the M.E.M. Donaldson Collection at the National Museum of Scotland. ​ And why I’m presenting this image here to you? One because I’m fascinated with historical photography, especially if it has a deeper relevance to my life cycle. ​ I was taken to Laig Bay in my twenties by my friend Athene English—to whom this newsletter is dedicated and who founded The Great English Outdoors. We were deeply in love then, young and full of wonder. ​ Sadly, Athene passed suddenly last year, taking with her all of the travel images we shared. Still, finding this image of Lachlan MacAskill felt special—as if, in some deeper, more mystical way, we remain connected.
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Lachlan MacAskill with his dog and kitten on the Isle of Eigg in Scotland
🎶 Vibe We’re Lovin’
Journey into The Ghetto of Warsaw​ I’d like to continue, if I may, down this journey of exploring different music from poverty stricken cultures. Last week we took a look at Soweto: A Musical Genealogy By Lerato Lichaba of Urban Village. ​ This week I’d like to venture into the Ghetto of Warsaw. ​A short excellent, unique write up and You Tube documentary interview. The title of which is : Music in the Warsaw Ghetto, 1940–1942: Jewish Identity, Culture. Found here. ​ ​This is from: The Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies at Harvard University.
On a lighter note, if I could choose only one experience that would draw me to Europe at this moment, it would be to attend Clara-Jumi Kang’s performance with Andrzej Boreyko and the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra. Listen to the You Tube video here. Enjoy
